Seat support



W. J. KIEFER SEAT SUPPORT Dec. 5, 1944.

Filed Feb. 10, 1944 Patented Dec. 5, 1944 U NITED STATE-S PATENT OFFICESEAT SUPPORT;

Walter. J. Kiefer, Belvideralll.

Application February 10, 1944, SerialNo. 521,775

11.. Claims.

This invention relates tomechanisms tobeapplied to lunch counter stoolsfor; automatically returning such stools to a predeterminedposiunoccupied, usually facing the counter: It is desirable that such amechanism be quiet or noiseless in operation and foolproof so that itmay not be damaged by careless or mischievous persons. The presentinvention. provides a simplified and inexpensive mechanism foraccomplishing that object.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an automaticself-aligning mechanism on a counter stool so constructed and compactlyarranged that it may be positioned inconspicuously under the counterseat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the classdescribed which will be. sturdy and simple in design. and require. nodifiicult maintenance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self-aligning mechanismof the class described which will permit, the stool to be rotated 180 ormore from its normal position and cause it to return tonormal positionfrom any displaced position by a rotation of not exceeding 180".

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism foraccomplishing the foregoingobjects and which will benoiseless inoperation and capable of rotation in either direction and of continuousrotation in either direction for more than 360.

Other objectsand advantages of the inventionwill become apparent from aperusal of this specification.

Referring now to the drawing,

Figure 1' represents a somewhat diagrammatic view: on a reduced scaleoftherelative positions of a lunch counter and stool. 1

Fig. 2 is a plan view: on a reduced scale of a portion ofa "lunchcounter with a pair of stools besideit.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view" of a lunch counter seat showing one formof the invention: applied thereto.

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view on thebroken line 44. ofFig; 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of" the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig- 6" is. a bottom plan View of the selfaligning mechanism aloneshowing it as rotated in a counterclockwise direction about from 1 formof the invention.

Referring further to the drawing, the details of construction of thechair itself do not form apart of the invention. For the purpose ofexplaining the invention it will suffice to consider. that the seat I ismounted'upon a pedestal 2 and is provided with the usual back 3. Theupper end of the pedestal is hollow andcarries a bushing 4 in which isseated the ball bearings 5 and 6 which furnish a suitable rotativesupport for the post 1., An enlarged shoulder 8 on the post rests on thetop of ,the upper ball bearing and is preferably integral with a spiderconsisting of the legs 9, l l', and [2. The outer extremities of thelegs of the spider are anchored to the underside of the seat in anysuitable fashion, asby means of screws I3 extending through spacingmembers I l.

The bushing 4 carries on its upper end either integral therewithorsecured thereto a stationary ring gear l5".

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3; l, and 6 two of the legsof the spider carry rotatable spur gears l6 and IT, these gears beingrotatably positioned upon the spider legs in any suitable manner, forexample, by means of the screws l8 and bearings I9, being slightlyspaced apart from the spider legs by spacing washers 2| as shown.

Each of'the gears l6 and Il is provided with aspring ilot post such as22 shown in Fig; 5

having a spacing shoulder as shown, permitting rotation of a sleeve 23about which is wrapped the'end of one ofthe restoring springs 24. Theopposite ends of these springs are anchored on the bracket 25 secured tothe leg 9 of the spider.

The screw I8, bearing l9 and spacing washer 21 are designedto hold eachof the gears free to rotate and in a position slightly-spaced below thespider legs.

The modified form shown in Fig. 7 differs" from that shown in Fig 3 onlyin that it. em-

loys a single restoring spring 26, a single spur gear 21 mounted on oneof the spider legs 28 in mesh with the stationary gear 29. The

. bracket 3i retains the other end of the restoring spring: 26.

Referring now to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 6,assumingthat the seat is arranged" normally" to face the counter, when apatron is leaving the stool and rotates the stoolfrom its normalposition, as the seat rotates upon the pedestal the gears l6 and I! willbe rotated to an extent determined by the degree of rotation of thechair seat. However much this rotation is, each of the restoring springswill be extended beyond its at rest length and if the chair is releasedwhile the mechanism is in the position shown, for example, in Fig. 6,the restoring springs acting on the posts 22 will cause the gears l6 andI! to be rotated back toward their normal position in mesh with thestationary gear and thus restore the seat to normal. If the seat hasbeen rotated from normal less than 180 it will return to normal byreversing the rotation through which it has just moved, but if it hasbeen rotated more than 180 from normal the position of the posts 22relatively to the restoring springs will cause the chair to continue itsrotation in the same direction until restored to normal. This will beclear from examining Fig. 6 and assuming a rotation of more than 180.

It will now be clear in view of this construction that the chair seatrotated from normal and then released will always return to normalposition by the shortest route, but will never require more than 180 ofrotation after release. Also, no harm will be done to the mechanism ifanyone in a playful mood should rotate the chair continuously in eitherdirection an unlimited number of times.

In view of the simple gear construction employed it may be expected thatthe mechanism will give no maintenance trouble and will requirelubrication only at long intervals, sufficient to assure noiselessoperation and freedom from Wear.

Another advantage residing in this construction will be observed inthe'fact that the tension of the springs cannot be increasedaccidentally or mischievously beyond the tension which they attain at180 rotation from the normal. position of the chair.

The modification shown in Fig. 7 operates in the same manner as does theother embodiment of the invention, differing only in the use of oneplanetary gear 21 and one restoring spring pivotally connected thereto.Whether a pair of planetary gears and springs or just one set isemployed is a matter of choice. The tension of the springs used may bevaried, of course.

The normal at rest position for the mechanism will be attained, asillustrated in Figs. 3 and 7, when the pivotal connection of therestoring spring with the planetary gear lies on a straight line betweenthe opposite end of the spring and the axis of the planetary gear towhich that spring is attached. While a dead center position could alsobe reached when the planetary gear has been rotated 180 from normal thatposition would not normally be attained or maintained unless the chairwere accurately positioned at that angular position intentionally. Inactual practice this latter condition would seldom occur, and would beharmless if it did.

While it is stated above that the preferred normal position of the chairmay be to have it facing the counter, it is obvious that the normalposition may be at any other angular position relatively to the counteredge, dependent upon the preference of the owner of the equipment. Thisis easily arranged by lifting the chair seat and hence the post 1 highenough to disengage the planetary gears from the stationary gear, andwhen the springs have pulled the two planetary gears into the relativepositions shown in Fig. 3 the seat may be rotated, with the gears out ofmesh until the desired normal angular position is reached, after whichthe seat may be lowered until the gears are again in mesh. This positionwill then establish the normal position for that particular stool. Itshould be noted that all the gears are equal in size.

One advantage possessed by this mechanism and not found in some otherdevices of this character resides in the fact that the chair occupantmay rotate the chair from normal with scarcely noticeably effort. Itshould be understood that these specifications and the drawing disclosethe invention in only two of the forms in which it may be embodied, butthat the details of construction of these forms or other forms may bevaried without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having shown and described my invention, I

claim:

1. A self-aligning counter stool comprisin a pedestal, a stationary spurgear mounted on said pedestal extending in a plane perpendicular to thepedestal axis, a chair seat pivotally supported on the pedestal, aplanetary gear pivotally supported on said seat in mesh with saidstationary gear, a coil spring operatively connected with the saidplanetary gear eccentrically to its axis, and means for anchoring theopposite end of said spring on said chair seat, said spring beingarranged to rotate said planetary gear and the seat with it back to anormal position affording minimum distension of the spring whenever theseat has been displaced from normal and is free for such restoringrotation.

A self-aligning counter stool comprising a. chair seat, a pedestalpivotally supporting the seat, a stationary gear mounted near the upperend of said pedestal perpendicular thereto, a planetary gear pivotallycarried by the chair seat on its underside in mesh with said stationarygear, and a coil spring having one end anchored in a fixed positionrelatively to the chair seat and its other end pivotally connected withsaid planetary gear eccentrically of the axis thereof whereby thetendency of the spring to return to normal distension may rotate theplanetary gear to restore the seat to a predetermined normal angularposition relatively to the pedestal.

3. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a chair seatpivotally supported on the top of said pedestal, a stationary ring gearmounted on the upper end of said pedestal, a planetary spur gear in meshwith said stationary gear pivotally supported on the seat eccentricallyof the axis of the seat, a coil spring, means for anchoring one end ofsaid spring in a fixed position on said seat, and means pivotallyconnecting the other end of said spring with said planetary geareccentrically of its axis, said spring being arranged when distendedfrom its normal minimum length to rotate the planetary gear about thestationary gear and acting through the axis of the planetary gear torestore the seat to a position to re-establish the minimum distension ofsaid spring.

4. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a seat pivotallymounted on said pedestal, a stationary gear mounted concentrically withthe axis of the seat, a planetary gear in mesh with the stationary gearpivotally supported on said seat eccentrically of the axis of the seat,a coil spring having one end supported at a fixed point upon said seatand having its other end pivotally connected with said geareccentrically to the axis thereof, said spring tending to main- 5. Aself-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a seat pivotallymounted on'said pedestal, a stationary ring gear positioned on saidpedestal in a plane perpendicular thereto, a planetary gear meshed withsaid stationary gear pivotally supported on said seat eccentrically ofthe seat axis, a coil spring, means for retaining one end of said springat a fixed point relatively to said seat, and means operativelyconnecting the other end of said spring to the planetary geareccentrically of its axis, said spring being arranged to act throughsaid gears to maintain the chair seat normally in a predeterminedangular position relatively to the pedestal while permitting against thetension of the spring rotation of the seat carrying the planetary gearabout the seat axis.

6. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a seat pivotallymounted on said pedestal, a stationary ring gear positioned on saidpedestal' in a plane perpendicular thereto, a planetary gear meshed withsaid stationary gear pivotally supported on said seat eccentrically ofthe seat axis, a coil spring, means for retaining one end of said springat a fixed point relatively to said seat, and means operativelyconnecting the other end of said spring to the planetary geareccentrically of its axis, said spring being arranged to act throughsaid gears to maintain the chair seat normally in a predeterminedangular position relatively to the pedestal while permitting against thetension of the spring rotation of the seat carrying the planetary gear360 about the seat axis.

'7. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a seatpivotally mounted on said pedestal, a stationary gear mounted on thepedestal perpendicularly thereto, a planetary gear in mesh with thestationary gear pivotally supported on the seat eccentrically of theaxis of the seat, a coil spring, means for retaining one end of thespring at a fixed point on the seat eccentrically of its axis, and meansoperatively connected with the planetary gear eccentrically of its axisfor retaining the other end of the spring, the whole being arrangedwhereby the seat is free for. rotation in either direction and more than360 with the spring acting through the planetary gear tending to retainthe seat in a predetermined angular position relatively to the pedestal.

8. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a seat pivotallysupported on said pedestal, a stationary gear on the pedestal, arotatable planetary gear carried by the seat in mesh with saidstationary gear, and a coil spring anchored on the seat and operativelyconnected eccentrically to the planetary gear arranged for rotating theseat about its axis and for resiliently retaining the seat at apredetermined normal position.

.9. In a self-aligning counter stool, a pedestal, a stationary gear onthe pedestal, a frame for attachment to the under side of a chair seatpivotally supported on the pedestal, a planetary gear in mesh with thestationary gear and rotatably carried by said frame, and a coil springhaving one end anchored to said frameand its other end operativelyconnected eccentrically to the planetary gear arranged for rotating theframe about its axis and for resiliently retaining it at a predeterminednormal position.

10. A self-aligning counter stool comprising a pedestal, a stationaryspur gear mounted concentrically on the pedestal, a seat pivotallysupported on said pedestal, a toothed member pivotally mounted forrotative movement on the seat in mesh with said gear, and spring meansanchoredon the said seat operatively connected to said toothedmembereccentrically of its pivot arranged for rotating the seat aboutthe pedestal and resiliently retaining the seat at a predeterminednormal position.

11. In a self-aligning counter stool, a pedestal, a stationary gear onthe pedestal, a frame for attachment to the under side of a chair seatpivotally supported on the pedestal, a toothed member pivotally mounted.on said frame for rotative movement in mesh with said gear, and springmeans anchored on said frame and operatively connected with said membereccentrically of its pivot arranged for rotating the frame about thepedestal and for resiliently retaining the frame at a predeterminednormal position.

WALTER. J. KIEFER.

